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(CNN)Four people who were due to board the plane that crashed, killing 71 people in Colombia, have revealed how last-minute changes stopped them from getting on the flight.

The Lamia 2933 flight, carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense, crashed late Monday near Medellin. Six of the 77 people on board survived.

Gelson Merisio, a state legislator for Santa Catarina and an ardent fan of the Brazilian club, planned to travel with the players to watch them take on Atletico Nacional in the first leg of its Copa Sudamericana final.

Gelson Merisio visted the team's stadium to pay his respects.

Merisio, 50, had been looking forward to the game only to switch his plans late on because of work commitments.

"I want to be clear, that while I was scheduled to fly on the plane with the team, I opted not to do it due to work obligations this week," he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

Photos:Colombia plane crash

A charter airplane with 77 people on board, including players from the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, crashed near Rionegro, Colombia, outside Medellin, on Monday, November 28. At least 71 people were killed, officials said. Six survived.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

The Avro RJ85 was traveling from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Medellin. The soccer club, which has risen in the ranks in Brazilian soccer and now has a devoted national fan base, was set to play in the first leg of the South American Cup finals on Wednesday.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

A rescuer walks past a victim's body on Tuesday, November 29.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

Rescue workers recover bodies on November 29. Authorities are investigating what caused the crash.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

The plane declared an emergency between the municipalities of La Ceja and La Union, according to Colombian aviation officials. The crash occurred in an area called Cerro El Gordo near Medellin, officials said.

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Photos:Colombia plane crash

Also aboard the flight were more than 20 journalists who were covering the soccer team's Cinderella story.

Later, after the severity of the crash became evident, he paid tribute to those who lost their lives.

Just three players, Jackson Ragnar Follmann, Alan Ruschel and Helio Hermito Zampier Neto, survived the crash. Three others, two crew members and a reporter also survived.

Alan Ruschel was one of the players to survive the crash.

Doctors in Medellin amputated Follmann's right leg and he is currently in the hospital's intensive care unit, according to Juan David Arteaga, the Undersecretary of Social Protection for the state of Antioquia.

Arteaga says that Neto is under observation following multiple surgeries and Alan Ruschel is in the ICU.

'Pain'

Another of those who was originally supposed to be on the plane was journalist Ivan Carlos Agnoletto -- he said he gave up his seat for colleague Gelson Galliotto, who had always dreamed of covering such a huge game.